dpa
Paris
Stephen Curry hit four crucial three pointers when it mattered as the United States won another Olympic men’s basketball gold, 98-87 over Paris Games hosts France, on Saturday.
It was a fifth straight and 17th overall title from 20 participations for the US who have also medalled in all of them, and Kevin Durant become the first man to win four golds in the sport.
“There’s a lot of relief. It wasn’t easy but, damn, I’m excited,” Curry said.
US in control but France fight The US team led 49-41 at the half and got the biggest advantage of 14 at 61-47 in the third quarter.
Urged forward by a partisan crowd, France refused to bow and were within three at 82-79 from Viktor Wembayana with three minutes left at the Bercy Arena.
Curry makes the difference again But Curry then stepped up like in his 36-point-gala in the narrow semi-final win against Serbia, under the eyes of French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.
He hit an incredible three for 85-79, Wembayana then missed a three, Durant converted two free throws to make it 79-81, and Curry nailed the next nine points from behind the arc to clinch it for good.
“I was just trying to settle us down. All we wanted to do was get a good shot. It had been a while since we had good possession,” Curry said of the deciding moments.
“(Finally) the momentum was on our side. At that point, your mind goes blank. You don’t really care about setting or the scenario or anything. It’s just a shot.” Curry led the way with 24 points, all of them from three-point range, Durant and Devin Booker had 15 each, and LeBron James, who was named tournament MVP, 14.
“We’ve seen it before. Got a hot player, you gotta keep firing him.
He’s the best shooter to ever live, and today was another test of that,” Booker said in praise of Curry.
Wembayana, who was in tears post-match, paced France with 26 points, with Guerschonn Yabusele on 20.
The two nations meet again in the women’s final on Sunday, where the US team seeks an eighth straight gold.
Serbia earn bronze Serbia earlier clinched bronze 93-83 against Germany in a rematch of the World Cup final they had lost last year.
The Serbians led by 19 points in the third quarter. The Germans made an effort to close the gap, but it wasn’t enough, with Isaac Bonga and top star Dennis Schröder recklessly missing precious points in the final two minutes of the game.
Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Joki and Vasilije Micic were Serbia’s top scorers with 19 points each.
